Minneapolis agrees to pay $9M in Derek Chauvin misconduct suits before George Floyd's murder

Grace Hauck, USA TODAY
Updated ·4 min read
21
  • Oops!
    Something went wrong.
    Please try again later.
  • Oops!
    Something went wrong.
    Please try again later.

The city of Minneapolis on Thursday agreed to pay nearly $9 million to settle two police misconduct lawsuits involving the actions of former officer Derek Chauvin years before he murdered George Floyd.

The plaintiffs – John Pope and Zoya Code – alleged police misconduct, use of excessive force and racial discrimination in the suits against the city of Minneapolis, Chauvin and seven other officers.

"In their 2017 encounters with Chauvin, both Code and Pope experienced excessive force tactics that foretell Chauvin’s murder of George Floyd a few years later," civil rights attorneys Robert Bennett and Katie Bennett said in a statement Thursday.

The settlements total $8.875 million. Pope will receive $7.5 million, and Code will receive $1.375 million, the attorneys said. In announcing the settlements, the attorneys also released police bodycam video of the incidents.

Minneapolis police chief points to 'systemic failure'

In a news conference Thursday, city officials condemned Chauvin's actions and said he should have been fired in 2017. Officials also highlighted the failures of other officers and supervisors to intervene and hold Chauvin accountable, pointing to a larger issue of department culture.

"The notion that we are dealing with the bad actions of one employee is false," Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O'Hara said. "We are dealing with the ugly consequences stemming from a systemic failure within the Minneapolis Police Department that has allowed for and at times encouraged unjust and brutal policing."

O'Hara and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey apologized to Pope, Code, their families, and anyone else who experienced similar conduct at the hands of Chauvin. "This is an example of the cancer that has infected this department," O'Hara said.

What happened to John Pope and Zoya Code?

Pope was 14 years old in September of 2017 when police were called to his house for a domestic disturbance, according to the complaint. Chauvin and an officer he was training were the first to arrive on the scene.

Pope was in his bedroom and "posed no threat to officers" when Chauvin struck him multiple times on the head with a large metal flashlight, according to attorneys. Chauvin then strangled Pope and rendered him unconscious, according to the city’s account of the incident.

When Pope regained consciousness, Chauvin kept Pope in a prone position, handcuffed, while Chauvin kneeled on his neck and upper back and Pope repeatedly told officers he could not breathe, according to the city. At least eight other officers witnessed the scene, did not intervene, and did not report the incident, according to attorneys.

Earlier that same year, in June, Chauvin repeatedly used excessive force against Code by torquing her handcuffed wrists and arms upward and behind her head while she was face down, according to the complaint.

Chauvin also slammed Code's head on the ground and pinned his knee on the back of her neck for more than four minutes, attorneys said. He placed her in a "hobble" restraint – now banned by the department. The other officer on the scene did not intervene.

In both cases, a supervisor approved Chauvin's use of force. "If the supervisors had done the right thing, George Floyd would not have been murdered," Frey said.

Code was charged with domestic assault arising from the incident, but the charge was later dropped. On Dec. 15, 2021, Chauvin pleaded guilty in federal court to felony charges based on the incident involving Pope.

Derek Chauvin convicted of murder, violating George Floyd's civil rights

Floyd was killed on May 25, 2020, after Chauvin, who is white, pinned the Black man to the ground and kept his knee on Floyd's neck for more than nine minutes. The incident spurred a nationwide reckoning on police brutality and propelled racial justice protests worldwide.

In 2021, a Hennepin County jury found Chauvin guilty of second-and third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter. He was sentenced to nearly two years in prison on those state convictions.

Chauvin later pleaded guilty to violating Floyd's civil rights, and a federal judge last year sentenced him to 21 years in prison, adding a few years to the time he was already serving. In January, Chauvin's attorney asked an appeals court to throw out the convictions.

In 2021, the U.S. Department of Justice launched an investigation into the City of Minneapolis and the Minneapolis Police Department.

Dig deeper

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Minneapolis agrees to pay $9M in Derek Chauvin misconduct lawsuits